A Story With a Disappointing Ending
In hindsight, Sparrowtail was probably not the best StarClan cat to speak with Jaypaw. But the CloudClan cats who lived in StarClan had been angsty lately concerning Halfpaw's recent development, and were holding a council with most of the other Clans. It had been Stripefur that suggested that Sparrowtail speak with Jaypaw. Which...was the problem. The forest was shaded like night, but full of thick undergrowth and rustling leaves. Branches shifted overhead in a nonexistent breeze. It was quiet, except for the faint chirping of crickets and the distant rushing of the river. Sparrowtail sighed softly. The wind reminded him of the BreezeClan moor. He scratched one ear with a hind paw and faced the cat that sat on the other side of the pool. "You've been having problems with Halfpaw, haven't you, Jaypaw?" The dark tabby shifted uneasily on his paws. "I...don't know. I suppose." He glanced up at the StarClan cat, then down once more. Sparrowtail's eyes slid from the apprentice to the water, then back to Jaypaw again. "I think I have a way to make things better between the two of you. Bring you closer." Jaypaw looked uneasy. He leaned away slightly. "But...I don't...like...her..." "We'll fix that." The former BreezeClan deputy lay his tail reassuringly across Jaypaw's shoulders. "Relax. Just trust me. Can you do that?" Reluctantly, Jaypaw nodded. "Okay." "Good. Take a drink from this pool. It will make you feel better." Jaypaw hesitated, blinked like he was trying to recall a memory that should be there, then shrugged and bent down. Sparrowtail watched the dark tabby tom lap up the shimmering water. He leaned back and closed his eyes. Yes, this would make everything so much better between the two. Besides, it would be fun. And Sparrowtail loved fun. "Listen to me, Jaypaw. Are you listening?" The young cat sat up and rubbed one paw across his face. "I...feel tired. Can I rest?" "Soon," Sparrowtail promised, "and technically you're already asleep. You're dreaming, remember?" "I am?" Hmm...maybe a bit too much of the water. Sparrowtail knew he would have to be careful. "Yes, you're dreaming. But I want you to pay attention to me." Drowsily, Jaypaw flicked his eyes in the StarClan cat's direction. "Do I have to? Everything is so...fuzzy." "That's fine," Sparrowtail assured him, "that means it's working." "What's working?" "Your healing process. Jaypaw, tell me again why you don't get along with Halfpaw." "I'm sorry...who?" Sparrowtail grinned. "Exactly. Now, soon you will wake up. But before you do, I want you to stare into the water." Obediently, Jaypaw did. He leaned over the pool, the tips of his whiskers spreading ripples over its surface. "Are you listening closely?" Sparrowtail urged. "Yes." Jaypaw leaned even farther over the water. His nose was completely submerged now, but he didn't seem to notice. "Good." Sparrowtail flicked one ear. "Every time that you hear Halfpaw says the word 'mouse', I want you to lick her nose." "I will lick Halfpaw's nose every time she says 'mouse'," repeated Jaypaw obligingly. His eyelids started to droop. He yawned. Sparrowtail yawned too, then shook his head. "Excellent. I'' guarantee that this will bring you ''closer." He drew out the word closer in slow motion. "Closer," Jaypaw echoed. His green eyes looked glazed. Sparrowtail dipped one paw in the pool and began to flick water at the young cat. Jaypaw started, gasped, and began to blink rapidly. "What? I'm listening, Snowthorn. We were talking about frogs, right?" He blinked a few more times. Sparrowtail could sense the younger cat's vision beginning to clear. "Oh...wait...where am I?" "I think," Sparrowtail replied casually, flicking more water at Jaypaw's face, "that you are waking up in the CloudClan camp now." Jaypaw started awake. His face felt wet. Rain dripped through the roof of the apprentices' den. There must be a crack in the bark of the tree above. Jaypaw shielded his head with his forepaw and turned his gaze irritably upward. "Rats," Halfpaw spat, giving her tail a lash. She stood and shook out each paw in turn. "Hello Jaypaw. I'm going hunting to see if there's any prey that hasn't hidden in its den." Jaypaw blinked. "But you're not allowed to leave camp without a warrior, remember?" Halfpaw blinked too. Then a look of realization passed over her eyes. "Oh...I....right. Well, I'll go see if anyone's up." "In this rain?" Jaypaw frowned outside the den. He knew he couldn't let Halfpaw go alone-especially because she was acting....weird again. "I'll come with you." Halfpaw cringed visibly. "No," she mewed quickly, "that's okay." A definite sign that something was wrong. Halfpaw usually did her best to follow the rules and apologize frantically when she knew she had made a mistake. Jaypaw narrowed his eyes suspiciously. He didn't think it was just the rain messing with her head. "Let's go together. Maybe we can find something. I hear the mice are good this time of year." "I like voles the best," Halfpaw answered automatically. "I thought squirrels were your favorite." Halfpaw blinked. "No...it's...it's voles...I decided that I liked those better." Jaypaw frowned, staring curiously at the other apprentice, who shifted from paw to paw. "If you say so. Let's go." They left the apprentices' den. Jaypaw scanned the camp, wondering if there was anything left of the fresh-kill pile. There wasn't, which was probably a good thing because it would have been ruined by rain. "Will you stop that?" he snapped to Halfpaw. She was lashing her tail from side to side, up and down, in every direction she could, for no apparent reason. She blinked at him. The tail stopped moving. "StarClan, what is wrong with you?" "Nothing." One of her ears twitched. She glanced away. "It doesn't look like there is any prey on the fresh-kill pile. Pity, that." Pity that? Jaypaw wondered. He'd never heard Halfpaw say that before. Of course, that didn't mean she couldn't. He shrugged it off. "Who should we take hunting with us?" Halfpaw looked around as though some cat would be up and about in the rain when even the sun hadn't risen. "Why don't you wake Pinewhisker for the dawn patrol?" Jaypaw suggested with a snort. "After all, he's always dragging you out of your nest. You sleep like a dormouse." Halfpaw muttered something under her breath. "What?" Jaypaw demanded, frowning at her again. "Nothing." Halfpaw shook water from her pelt. "Okay then, Pinewhisker it is." She slid into the warriors' den, Jaypaw following right behind. "Wakey, wakey, Pinewhisker." She prodded him with a sharp forepaw. The brown tabby started and raised his head. "What? Oh...Halfpaw..." he rubbed one paw across his face. "What are you doing up so early?" His final mew ended in a gaping yawn, which Halfpaw and Jaypaw both echoed. "We want to go hunting," Halfpaw explained. The tip of her tail twitched. "In this weather?" Pinewhisker frowned outside the den. "Please?" begged the she-cat. "Okay, okay," Pinewhisker muttered, rising. "If you want to run around in the rain, then more power to you. You coming, Jaypaw?" Jaypaw flicked his eyes to Snowthorn. The dappled light-gray tom slept peacefully in the back of the den. "I guess. But I think I'll let Snowthorn sleep." Halfpaw glared at Jaypaw, but Pinewhisker merely shrugged. "Okay then, suit yourself. Wish I had an apprentice as considerate about my rest." He let out a mrrow of laughter and reached up one forepaw to fondle the she-cat's ears. "I was a whisker away from catching that mouse!" "All right, can we go?" Halfpaw pulled away, obviously impatient to hunt. "The mice won't wait forever!" Jaypaw started slightly at the word mice. It was like a thought was on the tip of his tongue, but he couldn't quite place it. Something about the word. He glanced at Halfpaw, but she didn't see his look. Pinewhisker stared out of the warriors' den and made another sigh. "If you insist. But I still think most cats, and prey for that matter, would be mouse-brained to go out in this whether." "I'm not a mou-OW!" Jaypaw hadn't meant to step on her tail. He had just jumped slightly at that word, and in his defense, it wasn't his fault that Halfpaw's tail was laying so limply on the ground. She whipped around and hissed at him. "Watch where you're stepping!" Almost as an afterthought she added, "Frog-brain!" Category:Warriors Fanfiction Category:Short-Stories